MakiYou
by AndThisHappened
Summary: A pairing nobody asked for. You and Maki meet in a dreary coffee shop.


On an ordinary day, You wouldn't have even gone into a coffee shop like this. It bore a name she couldn't even pronounce, and overcompensated in its attempts to appear fancy and respectable, to the point of appearing drab instead. But You was feeling fairly deflated lately, and she passed this coffee shop nearly daily. She figured it was time to at least check it out, and perhaps dispel what might be her unfair perception of the shop.

Inside…was not better. The music was nice. But that was about it. The menu, in addition to being comprised of words from various languages, was also written in an indecipherable font. There were very few people inside, and none looked particularly lively. Save for one redhead sitting by the window, and a few abstract paintings here and there, there was no color in the place. The floor, the tables and chairs, the walls, were all various shades of browns and dark greys. The barista seemed to sneer at this casually dressed fish out of water as she took her order.

After receiving her drink You turned to walk out when her eyes trailed back to that redhead. She was sitting there with a closed laptop, her phone, and an empty cup of coffee, with her brow furrowed, frowning while she spaced out. You wasn't sure why but her feet carried her over to this woman.

"Yousoro!" she said. "Is this seat taken?" You gestured towards the seat across from the woman. The redhead broke out of her trance and half-glared at her intrusion.

Of all the empty space in this shop, why did this peppy woman have to sit with her? The redhead thought, but instead gestured vaguely her approval.

"My name's You by the way." You told her as she sat down. She sipped her coffee and frowned. It wasn't even so much that it was bad, but that it lacked any discernable taste.

"Maki." the redhead responded curtly.

"Do you come here often?" You pressed.

"No."

"I've never been here before. I see this place all the time so I thought I'd stop in."

"Bad idea." Maki stared out the window.

"Oh?"

"You just tried the coffee didn't you? It's terrible."

"But, then why are you here?" You wasn't sure how to proceed with this conversation.

"It's quiet."

"Oh." You considered leaving. It's clear she was just being a bother to this woman.

But before she could get up to leave, Maki asked her "So why did you deem to bother me? There are plenty of empty tables. Are you that lonely?"

You felt herself grow annoyed but it's true that she was intruding on Maki. "Maybe. You looked pretty lonely yourself though."

"I am not!" Maki blushed and stared at You. "And even if I was, why would I discuss it with you?"

"Because you still haven't told me to outright leave." Maki looked away again. She wanted to tell her to leave. But she couldn't.

"You're right." You continued. "I am lonely. I haven't seen my friends since New Years. And even then we all couldn't get together."

"That's what happens when you get old." Maki sighed. "I haven't seen any of my friends since last summer. Day in day out its just work, work, work." Maki thumbed her empty cup of coffee. "I haven't even gotten a single happy birthday text from any of them." she added quietly. So quietly she hoped You wouldn't hear.

"Oh. I'm sorry. My birthday was just the other day actually. I haven't heard from them either." You suddenly raised her voice "Happy birthday!" she nearly shouted, trying to cheer Maki up.

"Yeah. You too." Maki returned the favor less cheerily, trying to shrink into her chair, hoping the other patrons or the staff hadn't noticed the embarrassing display.

This woman was difficult, You considered, but very cute. Maybe that more than any other factor was what drew her towards her in the first place.

Maki meanwhile, thought You was cute, but annoying. She wouldn't admit it, but she wouldn't have minded spending more time with her. However after some more strained small talk, the time came that You finished her coffee, and Maki could bare staying in this coffee shop no longer. They gathered their belongings and walked out, bidding each other farewell, yet not parting.

"Hey Maki. Do you want to go somewhere?" You turned to her and asked.

"Why would I want that?" Maki brushed her off.

"You don't seem to hate me as much as you're pretending." You told her, smiling somewhat.

"Look I-" Maki huffed. "Maybe I don't. But I don't know you either. You're just some weird woman who wouldn't leave me alone."

You groaned at being described in such a manner. "Then how about we get to know each other?"

"What, like a date?" Maki wanted to tell her she was out of her mind, but the idea didn't really bother her.

"I never said a date." You clarified, causing Maki to blush once again as her real feelings broke through her icy facade. "Although I'm not opposed to that either."

"I never said I wanted to date you." Maki insisted.

"You're the one who brought it up." You thought the older woman was adorable.

"But…maybe we can go somewhere. And see where things go from there." Maki relented, admitting sort of how she felt at that moment.

You wasn't sure how things would work out with this stubborn woman, but smiled and offered Maki her hand. Regardless, she intended to make today count.


End file.
